Gone
by Qihotex
Summary: Not all journeys end with death. An immortal Dawn fic. A Multiverse crossover. 'Now with TtH100 ficcy goodness added'
1. Gone

**Disclaimer:** This is a derivative work using characters and intellectual property belonging to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, and Panzer/Davis and Co. (Highlander)  
**Summary:** Response to TtH/Jinni Poetry Challenge #17  
**Pairing:** None  
**Rating:** T (For alcohol consumption by an old person and implied character death)  
**Spoilers:** BtVS: All seasons. Highlander: none. Others as noted.  
**Distribution: **Ask first please. I might just say yes.  
**A/N:** See end.

_Minor tweaking: 20-Oct-2005_

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A cold, bitter wind blew through the bare trees, scattering leaves and dust before it. The tall young woman stood in the little shelter offered by a large oak, her long hair flowing like a dark banner to her side. Her companion, an equally tall woman with blonde, almost white, hair cropped short, held her back with a hand placed, almost gently, on her shoulder. In the distance, just barely visible in the evening light, they could see a small group of people gathered around a small monument near the top of a small, grassy knoll.

They stayed there, unobtrusively watching as the group, two men and three women, slowly walked away, talking in voices too quiet to be heard from their position near the edge of the forest. The blonde looked at the other woman who now had tears pouring down her cheeks and spoke softly to her. "You know you can't talk to them. We shouldn't even be here."

"Amanda, it's just too hard!" She cried with a sob. "This isn't fair. It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

"Dawn, you know fairness has nothing to do with any of this." Amanda told her brusquely, squeezing her shoulder in a tight grip. "We need to get going. We have a flight to catch."

"I need to see it." Dawn protested, trying to pull herself free. "I have to know what it says."

"Okay." Amanda reluctantly agreed, letting her go. "But just for a minute."

The two women carefully made their way through the brush and high grass until they came to the top of the small knoll. A small, meter high monument, cut from polished, green tinted marble, stood in a circle of freshly cut grass, surrounded by daisies and violets.

Amanda watched silently as Dawn squatted down and ran a hand gently across the words carved in the marble.

_  
Dawn Summers  
Beloved Sister and Friend  
Lost but not forgotten  
In time we will once more walk together.  
_

"I don't remember the crash." She said quietly, not turning around. "I do remember being terrified when the plane was hit by lightening. And the screams of the other passengers." She visibly shuddered. "I think one of them was mine. But there wasn't much pain. I must have woken up a couple hours later. There wasn't much left of the plane. It must have exploded right after it hit the ground."

"You were lucky." Amanda told her with a shrug, watching her stand. "You must have been thrown free of it before the explosion. An explosion like that would have taken your head off just as easily as a sword."

"There are times I wish it had." Dawn mumbled before turning and heading back the way they'd come, Amanda silently following.

* * *

"Remind me again. Why are we flying?" Dawn murmured, nervously picking at the arm of her seat in first class.

"Because the quickest way to cross the Atlantic from Dublin is by air." Amanda told her with a raised eyebrow, putting down the book she was attempting to read while they waited for the plane to leave the gate. "It's been a year. You can't avoid flying forever."

"I know, but my last trip in a plane wasn't the most enjoyable experience." she grumbled. "Couldn't we take a boat?" she asked, looking hopefully at her companion.

"No. We don't have the time. I have places to be this week and you're not ready to be out on your own yet." Amanda shook her head. "Once you can take care of yourself you can travel however you want to."

"And when will that be?" Dawn asked with a grimace.

"Soon. You're almost there." Amanda watched in surprise when Dawn slouched in her seat and ducked behind a magazine. "What's wrong?"

"Two seats up." She muttered. "It looks like someone I know."

"Really? Which one?" Amanda looked at the two young women now sitting several rows in front of them. They both seemed to exude an aura of innocence with a paradoxical hint of something dangerous. "From where?"

"Can we discuss it later?" Dawn whispered nervously. "She could probably hear us from there if she wanted to."

Amanda frowned at her but answered with a quiet "Okay." Refraining from asking more, she observed her companion trying to appear invisible for a few moments before going back to her book.

**

* * *

**  
With several hours before their connecting flight to the West Coast, Amanda guided Dawn to a small coffee shop she'd spotted near their gate. While Dawn grabbed one of the few tables in a secluded corner, she purchased coffee for both of them.

"How can you drink that stuff?" Dawn asked, making a face at the airport espresso in front of Amanda. "It doesn't taste anything like the real thing."

"No it doesn't." Amanda admitted. "But with a little help it is at least drinkable." And smirking, she took a small silver flask out of a pocket and poured a dash of some golden liquid into her glass, ignoring Dawn's horrified look.

"There are places where they shoot you for doing things like that." Dawn told her, shaking her head in refusal of the same for her coffee.

Amanda just winked at her before taking a sip of her concoction. Looking around to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted or overheard, she reminded Dawn of what had happened on the plane. "So, who were those two women?"

"Well... the one I recognized works with my sister. She was with them this morning. I'm not really sure who the other one was."

"Why did you hide?" Amanda asked curiously. "You've been gone long enough that she probably wouldn't believe it was you anyway. People are really good at ignoring things that they don't understand."

"You know that story of my life that I promised you?" Dawn asked her, giving her a sad look.

"The one that will explain why you already knew how to use a sword before you died?" Amanda asked. "And why you think your family wouldn't have any problems with you being immortal?"

"Yes. That one. I will tell you, but I'm not ready yet." Dawn sighed. "She's a part of it. Not a big part but if I can't tell my sister I'm still alive I'm certainly not having her find out from someone else."

"No, you can't tell your sister. And you know why. It's not just about you." Amanda reminded her.

"Well, your reasons suck." Dawn sniffed. "And this trip isn't going to make me forget them."

Not wanting to spend the rest of their trip with a mopey traveling companion, Amanda tried to cheer her up. "But think of all the fun we'll have! We can spend a couple months in Seacover driving Duncan crazy and then we can work our way back to Paris. We can be there by spring."

"Work? You?" Dawn laughed. "Is this part of your post-death therapy for newbies?"

"Think of it as on the job training." Amanda smirked at her. "Or a working vacation. A chance to practice all those other things I've been teaching you."

"It's a good thing I'm already dead." Dawn muttered. "Buffy would kill me if she ever found out I'm being taught to steal by a professional thief. It was bad enough last time. And that was only shoplifting."

"It's a time honored profession." Amanda protested with a small pout.

Dawn stared at her for a moment before shaking her head in mock disbelief. "As long as you believe it." Amanda just laughed before taking another sip of coffee.

* * *

**Author's notes:**  
**1.** Constructive feedback always welcome.  
**2.** So... plot hole issues? Not gonna fix them any time soon. Grammar issues? I wave my "Grammar  
for Dummies and Fanfic Writers" book in your general direction!  
**3. **This part occurs after my ficlet** "The Not So Charmed Witch"** and before "**Faith in Winter**". Later parts occur as noted.  



	2. Just Red

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**Author's notes (many - sorry):**  
**1.** I hadn't originally planned on continuing this story, but when I needed an idea for the **Twisting the Hellmouth 100 **(100 ficlets and drabbles) this story seemed like the perfect story to center them around. So for those who wanted more of Dawn as an immortal... here you go. (I've also upped the rating a little, just in case)  
**2.** The timeline for these bits of story won't always be in a straight line (I promise to rearrange them in order when I'm all done) so each part will indicate where it belongs.  
**3.** These story snippets will also tie together two of my other stories "**The Not So Charmed Witch**" (A BtVS/Charmed crossover which is really the first story in this timeline) and "**Faith in Winter**" (A BtVS/Harry Potter crossover. that occurs after the first part of this story.)  
**4**. So... this is actually a BtVS/Charmed/Harry Potter/Highlander multi-universe crossover. Each story part will note what it is crossed over with in the disclaimer for that part  
**5.** These stories occur: Post-Chosen for BtVS, post-Angel (the series), post Highlander Season 5, after Prue's death in Charmed, and after Order of the Phoenix for Harry Potter. Got that? (I have a long description/outline of how this multiverse diverges from canon over on my blog somewhere... for those who care. It should all be clear from the stories.)

1 of 100

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Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others**  
TtH-100 Prompt:** #006, Blood.**  
Wordcount:** 101 (aka almost a drabble)  
**Note:** This occurs a little earlier than "**Gone**".

* * *

**Drabble Title:** Just Red

She stared down, shocked at the warm red liquid soaking her shirt before pouring onto the floor. It quickly created a puddle around her feet. "Amanda!" she whined, feeling her fingers and toes going numb, a faint roaring in her ears, before everything turned black.

* * *

Groaning, Dawn rolled over and sat up, grimacing at the smell of the sticky blood that coated her clothes. "You need to learn." Amanda told her, glancing up from her romance novel. "I know what blood is." Dawn grumbled. "You panic when you bleed." Amanda said. "It isn't the end of the world. It's only blood." 


	3. It's Alive

**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others, Hogwarts and its denizens belong to J.K.Rowling and co.**  
TtH100 Prompt:** #043, Castle.  
**Word count:** 1006  
**Note:** This part is set post-"**_Faith in Winter_**"

* * *

"Why are we here?" Dawn asked, as they trudged down the worn dirt path under the ancient, gnarled trees. They'd left their car miles back, on the side of an almost non-existent old Roman road.

"We're here about a job." Amanda told her. Dawn noticed her nervously looking around. It didn't inspire confidence in their surroundings.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked.

"It's not my favorite forest." Amanda murmured, waving at the odd trees.

"You've been here before?"

"Yes..." Amanda said. "It's the easiest to get where we're going."

"Oh." Dawn looked at her speculatively, while keeping her hand on the hilt of her small sword. Before she could question Amanda further, they reached the end of the forest and strode out into a green, sunlit meadow. Young voices echoed in the distance.

"Now where?" she asked curiously, looking around, trying to locate the voices.

"Over there." Amanda pointed towards a large dark object on the horizon.

Dawn frowned. It seemed to waver in the sun like there was a large wall made of frosted glass between her and the object. "What is that?" She asked, following Amanda further down the path.

"Our destination." She told Dawn, grinning about something only she knew about.

* * *

"What are you watching?" Hermione asked quietly, looking up from her book. Her friend seemed to be fascinated by something she could see from the window. She frowned. Ginny didn't seem to have heard her. "Ginny?" 

"What?" She glanced over her shoulder at Hermione for a moment before returning to the window.

"What are you watching?" Putting her book down, she stood up and joined the red head. Looking out, there didn't seem to be anything special going on. She could see several unidentified students out near the lake. The Hufflepuff quidditch team was practicing over at the quidditch field. And Professor Dumbledore was standing on the path to the Forbidden Forest, almost directly below them.

"Them!" Ginny pointed towards two figures walking up the path towards the school.

Hermione watched them for several minutes. GInny admittedly had much better eyesight than she did but she didn't see anything special about the two women, dressed like muggles. "What about them?" she asked, slightly puzzled.

"There's something odd about them." Ginny answered vaguely.

* * *

Dawn stared up in awe at the large edifice. Living in Europe with her sister for several years, she'd certainly seen castles before. She'd even helped Buffy and Faith clean out a vampire nest in one several years before. But none of them had ever looked like this. She was so amazed that she almost missed Amanda introducing her to the old man in the strange clothes.

"Amanda. I'm delighted you could come." His eyes twinkled with humor, apparently not at all surprised when she hugged him. "And this is your new student?" He asked, smiling at Dawn.

"Yes." She answered with a wink in Dawn's direction. "Dawn, this is Albus Dumbledore, an old friend."

"Hi." She mumbled before her attention was attracted back to the castle. There was something about it that seemed to pull at her. Something she felt deep in her chest as it seemed to examine them with an invisible eye. "You know it's alive, don't you?" she blurted out when it suddenly occurred to her what it was that she felt from it.

Amanda stared at her. "Dawn? What do you mean?"

"You can't feel that?" Dawn asked curiously, not really surprised. Amanda was aware of magic, she'd even introduced Dawn to the almost mythical Cassandra the year before. But she didn't seem to have any ability to do even the few tricks Dawn had learned from Willow years ago. "It knows what we are." She concluded, loud enough for the others to hear.

"Albus?" Amanda asked their companion. "What's she talking about!"

Dawn heard the slight panic in her voice and turned to her, wrapping her arms around Amanda in a comforting fashion. "It's not a big deal, Amanda. It wouldn't have let us get this far if it didn't like us." She raise an eyebrow at Dumbledore, looking at him over Amanda's shoulder. "Right, Mr. Dumbledore?"

"Professor." Amanda corrected her absently. "Is she correct?"

"Yes." He looked at Dawn with a curious expression on his face. "Interesting." he commented after examining her for a minute before smiling at both of them and pulling a small back out of his long robe. "Lemon drop?"

* * *

The two women, clad in very unwizard-like clothes, quietly talked with Professor Dumbledore. Hermione watched them for a few minutes longer before returning to the table and her book. 

"What is it?" She asked, seeing a very puzzled look on Ginny's face as she reluctantly left the window and joined Hermione back at the table.

"I'm sure I've seen one of them before." She muttered.

"Which one?" Hermione asked. They'd both seemed very similar to her eyes. Same black clothes, same height. They even stood the same. And they seemed to be the same age.

"The brunette. In a photograph or painting, maybe." Ginny murmured. "I'm not sure."

"I'm sure if they are important we'll find out." Hermione told her. "Where were we?" she asked, picking up her quill and grabbing a blank scroll.

"Muggle religions." Ginny reminded her. "Why they affect vampires."

"Right." Hermione started writing, chewing on her lower lip as she filled the scroll with the things they'd discussed. "Did you ask 'her' about this?" she asked a few minutes later.

"She's not religious." Ginny told her, giggling at some stray thought.

Hermione looked at her in surprise. "She fights real evil. Demons and vampires. She could die at any time" She shuddered at the thought. "And she's not religious?"

"She says Heaven is a real place and that's all she needs to know." Ginny shrugged. "She doesn't say much."

"Did she say how she knows that?" Hermione asked, thinking about Harry and his godfather.

"Not really." Ginny said, picking up a books. "She got this strange look on her face and wouldn't talk about it."

"Oh."

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_**Additional Note:** The 'she' referred to above... does not have blonde hair, and appears in another fic I've written that takes place at Hogwarts. She will eventually appear in one of these parts. When appropriate. Her name isn't important to this story/ficlet._


	4. Pie never tasted like this

**Title:** Pie never tasted like this.  
**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others, Hogwarts and its denizens belong to J.K.Rowling and co.  
**TtH-100 Prompt:** #033, Pumpkin.  
**Note:** Occurs immediately after the chapter _It's Alive_

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Amanda hadn't appeared fazed in the least by the invitation to join the Headmaster for lunch with the entire school. She'd simply agreed with a quirky smile directed at the old man. Dawn just nodded and followed them into the castle. A little lunch would be very welcome. 

Once she'd gotten over the unnerving strangeness of the ceiling that wasn't there and being stared at by several hundred curious eyes, Dawn looked around the large room as casually as she could. One of the first things Amanda had drilled into her was how to appear calm, cool, and collected no matter what she was actually feeling. Amanda wasn't the strictest teacher she'd ever had, Giles beating her by miles, but Dawn assumed Amanda was using this as yet another opportunity to test what she'd learned and behaved accordingly.

She carefully listened with one ear to the conversation between Dumbledore and Amanda, just in case some question was directed at her, while cataloging the different people she saw in the large room. It wasn't too hard to guess that the students were all sitting in specific groups. She counted four distinct combinations of colors and decorations. Glancing sideways at the nearest teachers, she noticed that several of them wore the same colors as the students, but not all of them. She wasn't sure if she liked the colors, not that anyone had asked.

She'd always been partial to green. She still wore the small emerald cross that had been a present from Buffy on a silver chain. Until now, the color had always seemed welcoming. But there was something almost sinister about the brooding professor sitting next to her, wearing black robes with just a touch of green at the cuffs. An almost malevolent green that matched a banner high on one wall. It also seemed to be the favorite color of the students at one of the further tables.

Scanning the other tables, Dawn was surprised when she noticed a slim redhead, an almost too innocent look on her face, watching her intently. If anyone had asked her to describe the expression on the girl's face, she would have said it was the puzzled look of someone trying to remember where they'd seen something before. Her neighbor, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to hear what Amanda and Dumbledore were saying, an almost impossible feat from that distance for anyone without enhanced slayer or vampire hearing, she would have thought.

Raising an eyebrow at the redhead to let her know she'd been discovered, Dawn reached for the condensation covered glass in front of her and nonchalantly saluting her with the glass, took a sip of the dark orange, almost red liquid it contained. The flavor was totally unexpected but vaguely familiar. She hoped her surprise wasn't noticeable. It had a slight bite to it like cider but it wasn't sour. And it wasn't wine, like she'd expected.

Putting her glass down, Dawn tapped Amanda's nearest foot with her own, hoping to attract her attention. When Amanda paused for a moment and looked at her she subtly indicated her glass and its contents.

Delicately taking a sip from her own glass, Amanda shook her head. "It's not bad. I usually prefer something a little stronger than pumpkin juice..." She gave Dawn a wink.

"Pumpkin juice?" Dawn said, in a whisper only Amanda could hear. After Amanda's confirmation, she said louder, "It isn't the same as pie, but it reminds me of home." She only shrugged in response to Amanda's questioning look. She didn't feel like sharing one of her mother's pet names for her.

* * *

"Definitely a muggle. Or muggle born." Ginny commented under her breath to Hermione. 

"Why do you say that?" she asked, turning her attention from the conversation between Professor Dumbledore and the other woman.

"The pumpkin juice."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked quietly. "It's freshly squeezed like always. And Hogwarts always has the best."

"She made a face when she took a sip." Ginny murmured. "I don't think she's ever had any before."

"Have you remembered yet where you saw her before?"

"No." Ginny admitted. "But I'm even more sure now."

"Are you sure it isn't because she dresses like someone else?" Hermione asked with a small grin. "A certain muggle demon hunter?"

"No..." Ginny said, unable to prevent herself from blushing. "That isn't it."

"If you say so." Hermione giggled before returning to her contemplation of their other unnamed guest.

* * *


	5. Not A Book

**Rated:** T (For subtext/wishful thinking)  
**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others.  
**TtH Prompt:** #096, UST (We all know what that is? Right?)   
**Word count:** 200 (A double drabble)  
**Note:** Set some time after "**_Gone_**", but before "_**It's Alive**"_

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**Drabble Title:** Not A Book 

They seldom share rooms, and never beds. She wonders what it would be like, to wrap her arms around Amanda, to run her fingers through her short, bleached hair. To kiss those cheekbones and drink from such soft lips. To wake up with her hands in places she aches to touch.

It isn't fading memories of a certain vampire, also with bleached hair and hints of gentleness and ageless danger, that haunt her dreams. That make her long for more than smiles, for more than the adrenaline that sings through her veins as they swing deadly steel in preparation for the deadly Immortal dance.

Their relationship seems much closer than the few she's witnessed between other immortals, and she wonders. But Amanda has never crossed that invisible line between teacher and pupil. Their hugs never last long enough. She never receives one of those heated looks. The ones she remembers watching bounce back and forth between redhead and blonde that summer her sister lay dead.

She regrets not learning the art of innuendo from Faith when she had a chance. And she watches Amanda curled up on a chilly evening with another romance novel. And she wishes it were her.

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_**Author's note:** This series **IS** Dawn/Amanda (Not sure if I made that clear anywhere) but I don't write femslash. Sorry._


	6. Waiting

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**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others **  
TtH-100 Prompt:** #025, Jealousy.   
**Wordcount:** 1004 (_5 of 100_ )  
**Note:** This is set in the universe of my little ficlet Gone but a lot later. Decades even.

**Chapter Title:** _Waiting_

She stared down into her glass, occasionally taking a small sip of the bitter beverage. Each sip was followed with a glance at the mirror behind the bar and a faint grimace. She wasn't interested in getting drunk but a little numbness would have been very welcome.

"If you don't like it, don't drink it." she heard Joe's voice telling her.

She looked up at the gray haired Watcher. "Shouldn't you be watching someone else?" She waved over at the corner table where her partner was sitting on Duncan Macleod's lap and whispering something into his ear.

He shook his head at her. "They aren't going anywhere."

"Not now." She agreed, taking a larger drink and ignoring his sympathetic look. More than once in the years since she'd met him, he'd provided a shoulder for her to cry on.

Even after all these years, she couldn't stay away from her. She'd learned everything she could from Amanda about being immortal but there was something about her that kept drawing Dawn back, even when the older immortal was in the middle of one of her short dalliances with her favorite Scot.

No matter what they were into, or how involved their current job was, like a homing pigeon, every couple years Amanda would find a reason to spend at least a month in MacLeod's bed. And he would welcome her back as if she'd never been away. It was one of the few things she'd been unable to figure out about Amanda in all the years she'd known her.

She'd never been given a reason that could justify her jealousy. Although Amanda was aware of her feelings, she continued to treat Dawn like a much younger sister. So, whenever they went to Seacover, Paris, or wherever MaCleod was that year, Dawn would spend her days pursuing other interests and her evenings sitting at some bar, close enough to protect her if she needed it but far enough away that she could pretend to ignore them. And if she were lucky, they would be at one of Joe's bars.

Joe, an old romantic, might sympathize with her plight but MacLeod... MacLeod appeared to have no idea how she really felt about Amanda. And she preferred to keep it that way, always turning down his offers to spar with her, not sure how good her emotional control would be, swinging a sword at her unaware rival. She liked to believe she had her jealousy under control but had no desire to test her resolve any time soon.

* * *

She was on her fourth glass when she felt it. It had been years since she'd done any real magic but through the slight buzz of alcohol she still recognized the feeling that something was twisting reality somewhere nearby. It wasn't the same feeling she would get from the approach of an unfamiliar immortal. Some kind of magical portal had opened up nearby. 

She tried to turn casually so that she faced the door, but she could tell that she hadn't fooled Joe. He was a Watcher, and they were trained to detect all the signs that an immortal had detected another. Out of the corner of one eye, she could see him glancing quickly over at Macleod and Amanda, before turning back to her with a very puzzled look on his face. She just shrugged and continued to watch the door. Demons and other mystical creatures tended to stay away from immortal hang-outs.

Two young women, looking much too young to be there, casually strolled into the bar. She didn't recognize either of them but the smaller, younger looking one moved with a grace that Dawn found very familiar. At one time, years ago, when she'd been someone else, she'd lived among many girls like this. The other, a taller redhead, stood awkwardly just inside the entrance but Dawn assumed she was just as dangerous, if not more, sensing a trace of the magic from earlier around her.

Sighing, she put down her glass and stood up, drawing their attention. She could also feel Amanda looking towards her and used the subtle hand signal they used to mean she wasn't to interfere in whatever happened.

She turned back to Joe, and put her closest hand on his before he could even begin to interrogate them, saying "I'll take care of them." She thought longingly of her sword in its hidden scabbard in her jacket but if the smaller woman was what she suspected it wouldn't do her much good anyway. Dawn knew from experience that she could defend herself from the run of the mill immortal head hunter but it would be centuries before she had the skill to defeat someone with the innate strength and reflexes of a slayer.

She stepped in front of them, intentionally blocking their view of the rest of the bar, keeping her amusement at her height advantage well hidden. Spending so many years with the tall Amanda she'd forgotten that most slayers tended to be shorter than she was. She was sure it was going to be the only advantage she had if anything happened.

"What brings you here?" she asked them bluntly. "We have no need of you or the services of the Council of Watchers." She kept her face blank, ignoring the coughing sound coming from the bar. She would hopefully have plenty of time to deal with Joe later.

The redhead muttered something under her breath that Dawn didn't quite catch but which caused the other to laugh. Dawn disdainfully raised an eyebrow and waited.

The redhead removed a small cream colored envelope from a pocket and gingerly held it out to Dawn. "She wanted you there." the other told her cryptically.

Taking it, she noticed an ominous looking black seal on the back and her name on the front. She stared at it, turning it over in her hand for several minutes before looking up. Intending to question them, she noticed the two young women were gone.

* * *

**Note 2:** Who or what is Dawn waiting for? It's all in the sub/text... 


	7. Last Request

**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others.   
**TtH-100 Prompt:** #036, (Past).  
**Wordcount:** 1,546 (a little long)  
**Note:** This occurs after Prompt #25 (Jealousy).

* * *

**Chapter Title:**_Last Request_

The writing on the envelope looked vaguely familiar. She could almost see the hand that wrote the letters in her name. The letters flowing together seamlessly in that Catholic school trained way.

She felt a presence at her back, a warm body pressed against her own, as the envelope was plucked out of her hand in one quick motion. Dawn didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Only Amanda, out of all her acquaintances, would dare to invade her personal space in such an intimate manner.

Peering over her shoulder at the envelope she now held, her other arm wrapped around Dawn's waist, Amanda spoke quietly into her right ear, her warm breath sending unintended messages. "Who's it from?"

"No idea." Dawn told her, taking the envelope back and putting several feet between herself and temptation. Amanda just winked at her action and attempted to take the envelope from her again. Dawn dodged her partner, and walking back to the bar, placing the unopened envelope next to her empty glass.

"Well?" Amanda insisted, grabbing for it again.

"If you would let me open it..." Dawn grumbled, not actually minding the delay. She had a bad feeling about the contents of the envelope. Shaking her head at Amanda's antics, she picked it up again and turned it over in her hands. The thin black circle on the back was the traditional Council seal used on 'last letters', those little bits of goodbye from a dead slayer. It had been one of her few proud moments, before her own death, to discover a way to imbue the seal with magic that prevented anyone except the intended recipient from opening a letter sealed with it. It was really a simple spell. One that only someone with slayer blood could perform. Or one very powerful witch.

She smiled faintly at the thought. She'd been able to use the spell herself, thanks to the blood she shared with Buffy, but had never gotten around to telling her about it. She could just imagine how annoyed Buffy and Willow must have been at being unable to peak at the letters she'd left behind for the others, especially Faith. Not that she'd left anything really private in her letter to Faith, that Buffy wasn't already aware of anyway, but the idea that her nosy sister and Willow could be stopped by someone such as herself had always amused her.

"Joe?" Dawn looked around and spotted the curious Watcher further down the bar. "Could I have something a little stronger?" She waved vaguely at the hard liquor on a shelf off to one side of the bar.

"Bad news?" He asked.

"That's one way to look at it." She admitted. "Did you ever do it?"

"Do what?"

"Write letters to your family or friends when you thought you were going to do something that you might not come back from?"

"Of course." Joe told her. "And that's what that is?" She nodded her head. "Any idea who it could be from?" He asked.

"Sort of." Dawn said. "There are only a few people who could send me something like this. But I'm sure they all think I've been dead for years."

"Okay." He set a shot glass in front of her and poured a clear liquid into it. "This'll help."

"Thanks." She tossed down the contents of the glass. It went down very smoothly. She was about to tell him she needed something smoother when she suddenly felt like her blood had turned to fire.

"Okay..." she gasped hoarsely. "I'm ready to open it." She picked up the envelope and gently pried it open. Removing a thin piece of paper from the envelope she stared at it for a minute before beginning to read it.

Sighing, she put it down and took a deep breath. She looked at Amanda. "Want to go to a funeral?"

"No." Amanda told her.

"Well, you're coming anyway."

"Why?" she asked Dawn, clearly puzzled.

"Because it's your fault that she even knew I was alive."

"My fault?" Amanda raised an eyebrow at Dawn.

"Someone apparently recognized me when we did that job for Albus years ago. And told her about it." Dawn told her. "Attending her funeral is the price she's asking for having kept it a secret for so long." The letter had said a whole lot more but now wasn't the time to share it.

"So, we go to a funeral." Amanda grimaced.

"You can get a new outfit." Dawn told her. "But nothing tacky."

"Well, of course." Amanda agreed. Leaning over, she gave Dawn a long hug and a quick kiss on her cheek before returning to MacLeod.

She reread the letter for the tenth time, thinking about all of the things that could have been different if she'd only known.

"So..."

Dawn looked up at Joe. "Yes?" She had a good idea about what he was going to ask her.

"An old friend? Did they know you are immortal?"

"Apparently." Dawn shrugged.

"And they didn't try to find you?" Joe shook his head. "Did they tell anyone else?"

"She was like that. Didn't interfere in other people's lives. Unlike my sister, who would have come hunting for me." She picked up the envelope and stared at it. "And no, she didn't tell anyone. Though I'm sure they all know by now since they sent someone to give me this. I'm surprised my sister didn't bring it herself." She waved it at him and waited for his next question.

"What's your connection to the Council of Watchers?"

"You've heard of them?" She raised an eyebrow before taking a sip from the beer he'd brought over earlier. "Isn't all that in my file?" She winked at him.

"Your 'file' doesn't mention them, no." He gave her a piercing look. "Should it?"

"A trade?" She offered. "I'll tell you why I know about them if you tell me what you know."

"Okay." He nodded in agreement.

"I'll need a refill." She suggested, pointing at her glass.

"Are you sure you aren't related to Methos?" Joe asked her.

"Not that I'm aware of." She grinned. "So, what do you know?"

"Not much. They show up in the chronicles several times. Some kind of secret society that protects a mystical warrior. Rumor has it that they were destroyed a few years ago."

"That's it?" She looked at him in surprise. She'd thought the two groups must have run into each other a lot over the years. She hadn't said anything about the Council in the past just in case there was a connection.

"Well... we're taught to not interfere with them if we run into them. Their warrior is supposed to be very dangerous. Even to immortals."

"That's cryptic enough." Dawn grimaced. "Sounds like 'don't go near the black helicopters if you see them, they might bite'."

He laughed. "Yes."

She took another drink before saying anything else. "So, you want to know what they have to do with me..."

"Yes."

"You are correct. And they were destroyed. Mostly." She gave him a minute to think about it. "They had to start all over."

"So there really is some mystical warrior?" Joe asked. "What kinds of things does he fight?"

"She." Dawn corrected. She wondered what he would think if he knew one of those mystical warriors had just been in his bar.

"She?" Joe stared at her. "And what does she fight?"

"Mystical things." She shrugged. "The kinds of things that seem to avoid immortals. At least I think they do. Or maybe I've just been lucky." She mused. She'd often wondered why vampires had become almost invisible since her first death. She didn't think she'd seen more than five in the last decade. Even the few other demons she'd run into had been the more harmless, mostly non-evil ones.

"What's your connection to them?" She could almost see him taking mental notes.

"My sister. She's one of their people. When they started rebuilding it, she dragged me along for the ride."

"What did you do for them?"

"Research. A little bit of this and that."

"Research? Is that where you learned all of those languages?" He shook his head in amusement when she nodded. Methos had stopped swearing in several of his favorite languages in recent years once he'd found out that Dawn could understand him.

"Mostly. Someone had to do the research, the warrior types would rather be out there hitting things, and it helped if you could read things in obscure languages."

"So they've come looking for you? To go to a funeral?" He'd obviously overheard her talking to Amanda so she nodded.

"Yup. Should be a lot of fun." She grimaced at the reaction her sister was sure to have when she showed up. "For Amanda anyway."

"Well, if you want more company, just let me know." He picked up her empty glass and headed over to Amanda and MacLeod.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea." Dawn muttered to herself. "Introduce one secret society to another."

She picked up the letter and envelope, shoving them into a pocket. "Good night!" She said loudly in the direction of MacLeod's table, before grabbing her jacket and sword and heading out the door.


	8. In Memoriam

**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others  
**Prompt:** #039, Funeral.  
**Wordcount:** 1,384 (7 of 100)  
**Note:** This is set in the universe of my ficlet Gone, and occurs after Prompt #036.

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**AN:**The feedback and comments are much appreciated.

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**Chapter Title:** In Memoriam

Staring out of the window at the pouring rain, Dawn could feel Amanda watching her from the door to her bedroom in their hotel suite. Looking over her shoulder at the older woman, Dawn broke the silence. "Yes?" She asked quietly.

"Why are we really here?" Amanda asked. "You didn't run off to other funerals when you heard that people from your past had died."

"Have you ever had a chance to say goodbye?" Dawn asked curiously, indirectly answering her question.

"Many times." She admitted.

"It never gets any easier does it." Dawn asked.

"No." Amanda admitted.

"Is that why we always run away from our families?" Dawn asked. "Because we're cowards?"

Amanda was silent, her expression just one step away from the one that she used in the rare moments when her true age showed. She shrugged.

"She asked me to come. To say the few words for her that she couldn't tell them herself." Dawn told her after another long moment of silence, before returning to the window. "I couldn't refuse. I can't help that I love my sister. It will hurt very much when she truly dies." She took a shuddering breath. "But Faith... Faith was special. She never expected anything from any of us, not even love. But she was always there when I really needed her." Dawn shrugged. "I'll never be able to repay her in the way she deserved."

"It's more than that." Amanda insisted. "When your Giles died you got drunk and insisted on writing his name in bright orange paint on that statue in London." Dawn laughed in remembrance. Even with the near-photographic memory that came from being immortal, that week was very cloudy in her mind. But her small act still felt like a fitting tribute to him.

"And that isn't the only time you've done something like that." Amanda said. "But this is the first time we've come to one of their funerals."

"She's the last... and the first." Dawn admitted reluctantly. She continued before the obviously confused immortal could ask for an explanation. "She was the last surviving core member of my sister's crowd when I was growing up. Buffy is the only one left."

"And the first what?" Amanda prompted, dropping down onto the sole chair in the room, sitting there with the practiced elegance only centuries of living could provide.

Dawn could feel herself blushing faintly. "The first real crush I had, on a girl anyway. Not that I ever told her." She admitted.

"Oh..." Amanda looked at her in surprise. "We should probably get ready." She told Dawn, before rising to her feet and leaving the room.

* * *

Turning around slowly, Dawn looked at herself in the full length mirror that graced one wall of her bedroom. She'd chosen her clothes for the funeral and memorial service very carefully, with Faith in mind. Form-fitting black leather pants, a red leather top that left her stomach and Glory induced scars bare for all to see, and her most comfortable leather boots. All topped off with her favorite long leather jacket that fell softly to just below her knees while also hiding her sword from view.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Amanda asked, walking back into the room, wrinkling her nose at Dawn's outfit. "Have things changed that much in the last decade?"

Dawn ignored the comments and looked her companion up and down in barely hidden delight. As always, no matter what the occasion, Amanda had managed to dress very elegantly in a long black leather skirt that set off the black silk blouse she wore. She was sure to attract the attention of even the most jaded male. Dawn had seen her use her appearance as a very effective distraction in the past but wondered if it would work with the people they were about to join.

"They aren't going to notice me." She told her. "They'll be too busy seeing you. It's too bad this is personal. We could really have some fun."

"We could still do that." Amanda said, grinning at the thought.

"No. Forget I said that." Dawn groaned. "We aren't going to do anything to attract the attention of the witches and other extremely dangerous people who will be there."

"Dawn!" Amanda pouted briefly before laughing at her partner in crime. "Okay. No fleecing the mourners."

* * *

They sat in the back during the memorial service that followed the brief funeral. Dawn wasn't surprised that she didn't recognize very many of the people who stood up to speak. She'd kept track of the Scoobies over the years but hadn't given much thought to the Council itself.

Her sister's words were brief but even from a distance her grief was palpable. She was followed by two tall women, both redheads, one supporting the other who was clearly just as upset as her sister had been. She wondered why the younger of them looked vaguely familiar. "Do you recognize either of them?" she asked Amanda quietly.

Amanda frowned for a moment. "The younger one looks like the girl who brought you the letter last month."

"Oh." Dawn looked closer. "You're right." she said, sitting back in her seat as the older woman began to speak from the podium.

"She always thought she was living on borrowed time..." she began.

Dawn listened with only half an ear once she saw where the tribute was going. She didn't have any desire to listen to someone else trying to explain Faith's attitude towards life and why she would be missed. It was going to be hard enough going up there herself.

* * *

The older woman stopped to take a deep breath. "Faith never planned for the future. She always acted like she was moments from dying. But this memorial service was her idea." She shrugged helplessly. "She requested that we spend the the rest of the day partying for her since she can't do it herself. And she promised to come back and haunt us if we didn't party like she would." Laughter came from several points in the room. "But first... she asked that an old friend be allowed to speak last."

A quiet voice startled Dawn out of her thoughts. "It's your turn." The voice told her. Looking up, she saw standing next to her the young slayer who'd been with the witch who'd brought her the letter. Shakily Dawn rose to her feet, half tempted to run out of the room. But look over at Amanda, she could see her shaking her head, seemingly reading her mind. They'd worked together long enough for Amanda to know what she was thinking.

Squaring her shoulders, Dawn strode up to the podium, doing her best to ignore the reaction her presence was generating. She removed her jacket, taking the letter out of a pocket before draping it over a nearby chair.

"I'm not really sure why I'm here." she began. "Everything I could say has already been said by someone else. I hadn't even spoken with her in over twenty years." She sighed. "But she seemed to think that I should have the last word and pass along several messages for her. I've never been able to tell her no, so here I am."

Dawn looked at the assembled people, picking out several shocked faces in the crowd, including her sister's. "There are so many things she wanted to say. What family she had is here, in this room. She wanted no one to forget that." Dawn paused for another moment before reading through the small list of comments from Faith, stopping a few times to wipe her eyes.

* * *

Dawn frowned as she watched her sister approach from across the room, weaving between the dancers. She could feel Amanda's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in support. Buffy stood in front of her, staring intently at her face for a minute, as if memorizing it, before she spoke.

"You and your friend." She nodded at Amanda."My office. Now." She didn't give them any time to object, walking stiffly out of the room. Dawn sighed. She wasn't looking forward to this.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Amanda asked falling in step beside her as they followed Buffy. "She can't kill you."

Dawn just gave her a look, not saying anything.


	9. Regrets

**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others. Prue belongs to Aaron Spelling and Co. , Ginny belongs to J.K.Rowling and Co.  
**Word count:** 704 (8 of 100)  
**Note:** This is set in the universe of my ficlet Gone, and occurs during TtH 100 Prompt #39 (Funeral). (Background on the Prue reference can be found in my fic 'The Not So Charmed Witch'. Sort of.)

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**AN:** Feedback always welcome.

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**Chapter Title:** Regrets

She clutched her glass tightly as she stared across the room at the two women. The thing that looked so much like her sister and the other, sharing a closeness that spoke of something more than friendship as the crowd flowed around them. The sounds of their voices occasionally reached her, though even with her enhanced hearing she wasn't able to understand what they were saying.

Buffy couldn't take her eyes off of them and she was sure they'd noticed her watching them. But she couldn't stop. Even if it wasn't really Dawn, she couldn't resist. Her sister had been so fragile and needy that fall when she'd died; so tired of the danger of the life they'd been leading and not fully recovered from what had happened to her that summer; that Buffy had guiltily welcomed her absence. Not knowing that she would never see her again. Never have a chance to hold her, to hug her again.

She'd thought she'd gotten over the guilt, except for once a year when she visited the memorial they'd put up near the field her plane had crashed into. But seeing something looking like her... walking around, speaking with her voice... was bringing the guilt back.

So she watched, trying to determine from a distance if it was really Dawn or not. She didn't think this ersatz Dawn was evil, or if she was she hid it very well. But she looked like Dawn would have looked twenty years ago, as if she hadn't aged at all. And she was dressed as if she'd been taking fashion tips from Faith.

Buffy took a sip from her glass, noticing as she did so that is was time for a refill. She motioned over to one of the hovering waitresses for another drink. She'd promised Prue that she would take it easy but she wasn't here, having had to fly to San Francisco as soon as the funeral was over for some family emergency and wasn't there to keep an eye on her.

Buffy could really use her company right now. This was the first time they'd been separated since she'd found Faith. Without her balancing presence Buffy had the urge to do something that could turn out catastrophically bad. She was tired of watching the blonde woman whispering things into her sister's ear, causing her to laugh. If this was Dawn, why wasn't she looking as upset as she felt herself. After all, Dawn had idolized Faith at one point.

She could feel, in turn, someone watching her. She didn't have to turn her head to know that it was either Ginny or that slayer her daughter was paired up with, the one that reminded her so much of Kennedy. They probably expected her to do something about this Dawn look-alike. She ignored her possible watcher. This event was in honor of Faith and not the place for a confrontation.

She wasn't really feeling much of anything, alcohol or not. Looking down at another empty glass, Buffy decided she'd had enough. Now was the perfect time to find out what was going on with the Dawn look-alike. Before the pain and guilt returned, while she was in control, more or less, of her emotions.

She headed towards the two woman, weaving between the dancers. Stopping in front of them, she stared intently at the Dawn-creature's face for a minute, trying to determine if she were evil. Both women gave off a very faint magical tingle but nothing very tangible.

"You and your friend." She nodded at the older looking blonde. "My office. Now." She walked stiffly out of the room, not giving them any time to object, knowing that they would follow.


	10. Are you, or have you ever been

**Disclaimer:** BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, Fox Television, etc. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis and a bunch of others,Ginny belongs to J.K.Rowling and Co.  
**Word count:** 1,522 (9 of 100)  
**Note:** This is set in the universe of my ficlet Gone, and occurs after Prompt #85 (Watcher) in my TtH 100 series.

* * *

**AN:**Feedback always welcome.

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**Chapter Title:** Are you, or have you ever been...

Her expression blank, Buffy stopped at her office door and stood silently by it, waiting for the two women to catch up. Pushing the door open, she waived them in and pointed towards the two chairs facing her desk.

Walking past them into the room she could smell the fear coming from the one who so resembled her sister. The other smelled faintly of cinnamon but otherwise seemed very calm. Leaning back in her chair, Buffy stared at them for several minutes.

"Who are you? Why are you here now?" she asked, just barely keeping her anger under control. She'd been on an emotional roller-coaster for the past week since Faith's death and the desire to feel something, anything, other than grief was almost too tempting.

"Buffy..." the brunette said in a slightly whiney tone that sent chills down Buffy's spine. It was a tone she'd thought she would never hear again.

"Who are you?" she repeated with less forcefulness, a sick feeling growing in the pit of her stomach as she watched the woman, seeing faint signs of her sister's mannerisms.

"It's your sister, Dawn" a soft voice said from the door, dragging Buffy's eyes away from the two women in front of her desk.

"Ginny, this isn't a good time!" she said, shaking her head at one of the only other two women she knew were grieving for Faith at least as much as she was. Buffy knew that, although she'd never understood how the closeness between the two women had happened, Ginny deserved a large part of the credit for keeping Faith sane over the years. When no one else could reach her, Ginny, and later her daughter, had been there to pull her back from the edge.

"Buffy... I asked her to come." Ginny said gently. "Faith wanted her to be here."

"Why now?" Buffy said. "Why not when Willow died? Or Xander? Or even Giles?" Buffy swallowed, trying to keep her anguish from showing. "Why for Faith and not them? They were family."

"It isn't allowed." the blonde sitting next to her sister said, her melodious voice echoing hypnotically in the room.

"And who are you to say that?" Buffy asked, feeling the need for some target for her emotions.

The woman shrugged. "Her partner. Her friend."

"That doesn't explain anything," Buffy said. "My sister shows up, over twenty years after we thought she'd died, for a funeral but she wasn't allowed to go to the funerals of her closest family?"

"It was better this way." Her sister said.

But Buffy could still read her face like a book, even after all these years. It was obvious she didn't agree with whomever had told her that. She could feel her anger increasing, though she didn't know who to direct it at now. She watched the subtle interaction between her sister and the blonde woman sitting next to her for any clue.

"Better for who?" she said, grinding it out between clenched teeth.

"Buffy..." Ginny looked at her for permission to join them.

Buffy sighed. "Come in, and close the door." Ginny waved to someone out in the hall before closing the door. "Do I need to invite someone else in?" she said resignedly, not surprised.

"No. no. We're okay." Ginny said before sitting to one side.

"Someone care to explain?" Buffy said. "Ginny? You seem to know what is going on."

"Faith wanted her here."

"You said that already." Buffy said, idly playing with the small, razor sharp silver dagger she kept in her desk. "Why did Faith know she was alive and I didn't?" She punctuated her question by driving the dagger through the dictionary on her desk, raising an eyebrow at the squeak of surprise coming from Dawn.

"I told her." Ginny said nervously. Buffy looked at her in surprise. Ginny was one of the most straightforward people she knew. She wasn't the kind of person to keep a secret like that without a good reason.

"And how did you find out?" Dawn asked, a puzzled expression on her face. "You weren't around when I died. And I don't think we've ever met until today."

"No, I joined the Council several years later." Ginny said, looking at her. "I met Faith that winter she spent at Hogwarts. She didn't have many personal things with her."

"She was like that back then." Buffy murmured sadly. "She never talked about herself."

"She loved to tell stories about the things she'd done." Dawn said in protest.

"Most of those were made up. She was really a very private person." Ginny said, shaking her head. Buffy nodded in agreement. "She had several muggle pictures with her. One of the Scoobies, and one of the two of you. She never explained who the people in the pictures were. I forgot all about them until I saw Dawn and Amanda at Hogwarts that spring talking to Professor Dumbledore."

"Who's Amanda?" Buffy asked.

"Me." The other woman said. "Albus had a job for us. Sounded like it could be fun."

"A job?" Buffy asked, but the two women in front of her ignored her question.

"Fun?" Her sister yelped in obvious anger. "For who?"

"Well I thought it was fun." Amanda said.

"You got to rummage through that stupid Black house with that Weasley cutie." Dawn spit out. "Of course you had fun. I had to spend a couple weeks in Sunnydale hiding from the Mayor, and Angelus and the Scoobies until I could find that stupid book."

"Jealous?" Amanda said. Dawn scowled at her but remained silent.

"Weasley?" Ginny interrupted.

"Yes. Albus said he was some kind of curse breaker." Amanda told her. "I don't remember his name."

"Bill." Both Dawn and Ginny answered. Dawn and Amanda looked at her in surprise.

"Older brother." she told them.

Buffy looked at her sister speculatively. Having met Bill Weasley she wouldn't have thought he was her sister's type. "When did you start liking redheads?"

"I don't. So not the problem." Dawn grumbled, slouching down in her seat.

"You never told your own sister?" Amanda blurted out. Buffy wondered about the gleam that suddenly appeared in her eyes.

"No." Dawn told her. "And no, you can't use that as bribery material."

"Why not!" Amanda pouted. "It's perfect."

"Not when I know how you really died and Joe doesn't."

"You wouldn't!" Amanda said.

"Try me." Dawn gave her a grin Buffy remembered receiving herself so long ago and she could feel herself becoming jealous of the closeness between the two women.

"Enough with the sidetracking!" She yelled. "No one has answered my question."

"I was really busy the next few years and forgot all about seeing her at Hogwarts. I didn't know she looked like your sister until a few years ago." Ginny told her in a conciliatory tone. "You remember when you asked me to find out who'd spray-painted 'Ripper' on that statue in the British Museum?"

Buffy saw Amanda poking Dawn out of the corner of one eye as she listened to Ginny. "Yes..."

Ginny nodded her head in Dawn's direction.

"Told you someone would find out." Buffy heard Amanda whisper in Dawn's ear. Dawn's face turned red when she noticed Buffy listening.

"He would have wanted you there." Buffy told her, her anger slowly subsiding seeing the anguished look on Dawn's face.

Dawn abruptly got to her feet, knocking over her chair. "I need some fresh air." she mumbled, stumbling out of the room, slamming the door behind herself.

"Let her go." Amanda told Buffy, stopping her from leaving the room in pursuit. "She'll be back."

"So..." After putting Dawn's chair back on its feet, Ginny brought their attention back to what they'd been discussing earlier. "There was a mysterious vase full of Willow's favorite flowers that showed up at her funeral."

"And there was that large box of jelly donuts at Xander's." Buffy added. "Did she send them?"

"No, actually." Amanda said. "I did that for her. "

"Oh." Buffy murmured, turning around and looking out at the rain drenched grounds. She could hear the clock in her office ticking.

"I spent a month in a bottle when I found out about Xander." Dawn told her, leaning back against the door she'd entered so silently that even Buffy's slayer hearing missed her entrance. "I don't remember what I did when I heard about Willow and Kennedy. It's all a blur."

"You went head hunting." Amanda told her quietly, before getting up and gently guiding her back to her chair after giving her a hug.

"Why didn't Faith tell me?" Buffy asked Ginny again.

"When we found out what happened to that statue and who did it, she thought it would be better if Dawn told you herself. She thought there must be a good reason."

"Yes, there was a reason for the secrecy." Amanda said.

"It's still a stupid reason." Dawn told her. "Just because Duncan's family couldn't handle it and yours reacted badly doesn't mean the Scoobies would have."

"None of which really tells me why." Buffy said stubbornly, close to losing patience with the two women again. "So..."


End file.
